As the wind rears from a soft caress to a brutal howl, so too does the music of Luckless. The project by songwriter Ivy Rossiter is based around her powerful voice over an electric guitar and hypnotic live looping. The etheral haze of Indie Folk but also the propulsive drive of Alt-Rock comes to mind when you hear songs like her latest single “Civil War” (2015).

Luckless draws inspirations from 90s heroes PJ Harvey, Mark Lanegan and Sparklehorse, while reaching out to contemporary touchstones The Kills and Warpaint. She does all that in her own lusty and lyrical way.

Founded in 2010 in Auckland, New Zealand, Luckless relocated to Europe two years ago. Before that she was touring six months across the continent, performing to rapturous audiences from the UK to the Czech Republic. Berlin became her new haven. Since then she released two albums, among them the critical acclaimed „Vindication Blues“ (2014). She is currently working on material for a third record. Get a first closer look at the Fever Creek Intermezzo.

// Luckless about Luckless //

You came from New Zealand, touring through Europe, living now in Berlin. What do you think of the Berlin music scene?

Berlin is a very exciting place to make music, because of the variety of art that people are making, and the lifestyle that allows the time to make it work. But the live music scene seems more fractured. Maybe that is just because of the sheer scale of the town and the amount of events that are happening. Also that fractured nature is what’s led me to some collaborations that are out of the ordinary for me – so I am grateful for what I’ve gotten to experience here already.

You are also busking a bit in Berlin. What do you like about it?

Busking in Berlin gives you a glimpse into the diversity of the city that you might not otherwise get interacting only with your own social circle – both among the other buskers, and among the people who approach you while you’re playing. People have bought me flowers, asked for guitar lessons, given me gifts of varying kinds and legalities. And I even ended up singing with a delightful American passerby once. The little girl who gave me 50 € in an envelope, along with instructions not to spend it on “liquor or cigarettes” was a particularly special moment.

What is your emotional approach to music?

I make music because I can’t not make it. When I’m not playing or making things, for whatever reason – creative block, depression, distraction – then I get frustrated and even more angsty than usual.

Can you also tell us more about your upcoming third album and future plans?

My next album will be very much a solo-project, self recorded and as self sufficient as I can make it, although I hope to be able to include some of my friends on it as well. The music that I’ve been listening to and the experiences I’ve had here are certainly going to change my recorded sound, but I’m not quite sure to what extent as yet. I’m also planning on collaborating with my friend Tigeryouth on a split record, and I’ve been recording some experiments with the dream-disco-duo Ducks! as well, so I’m excited to see where we take those. So it’s a busy, exciting time. And after a pretty depressed winter, I am very much looking forward to the summer.